How to Beat the Cold or Flu In Just One Day

Beat the cold or flu in just one day by building your immune system with these specific foods and supplements.

beat the fluYESTERDAY AS I was sniffling, sneezing and fundamentally checked-out, I remember reading an article in January that the first flu death of the season occurred in Sonoma County, “as the virus expands its foothold in California”. (1)

The reason this news was poignant was that just a month earlier, the Sacramento Bee newspaper reported, “Flu season is officially at epidemic levels, CDC says”.

“CDC” is the Center for Disease Control and their job is to monitor and try to control non-human things that can kill us. At that point in time, the flu had killed 15 children, although it had yet to get a foothold in California. (2)

Fast-forward to now, and there’s good news, as the CDC says, “flu activity is still elevated but continues to decrease in the United States.” However, “it could last longer than average”. (3)

The rest of this article outlines how I beat the cold or flu — whatever it was that I had — in one day. The reason you should care is that, potentially, you could too.

Let me begin by saying that I have no idea if I had the flu (aka “influenza”) or a cold. According to Flu.gov, they have similar symptoms, making it difficult to assess which is plaguing you. Generally, speaking though, the flu is more severe than a cold.

Here are some flu symptoms (4):

  1. A 100oF or higher fever or feeling feverish (not everyone with the flu has a fever)
  2. A cough and/or sore throat.
  3. A runny or stuffy nose.
  4. Headaches and/or body aches.
  5. Chills
  6. Fatigue
  7. Nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea (most common in children)

Of those, I had #3, #4 (headache only) and #6. If I had the flu, t’was a pretty weak one. So, let’s just say I had a cold.

Flu vs Cold, Why Care?

Well, actually, maybe there’s no real good reason to care, because the primary difference between the flu and a cold is the type of virus that causes them, the flu virus being the more virulent.

Every year new vaccines are created to help prevent the new strains of flu virus popping up, and that’s why medical types routinely prescribe that a flu shot be gotten before the “season” arrives. The recommendation to avoid a cold is to not French kiss people with it, and to wash your hands frequently.

I couldn’t scare up a French kiss if I were French, and I don’t get vaccines, but I do wash my hands plenty. I get flu/cold-like symptoms about once every seven years, and they last about one day.

There’s a reason for this.

 

How to Beat The Cold or Flu

I guess I should emphasis that what I’m about to share is particular to me, and is not some general bromide that will necessarily work for you.

The reason for this is that I’m a devoted health nut, and as such, I have everyday habits that make my immune system strong. A strong immune system can help make you resistant to diseases, and help you quickly recover from them.

Specific to avoiding and/or quickly recovering from colds and flu, you may consider the following supplements:

  • Garlic oil capsules
  • Echinacea
  • Ginseng
  • Green tea extract
  • Olive leaf extract
  • Elderberry
  • Mushroom extract
  • Vitamin D3
  • Influenzinum

Let’s take a quick look at each, and I’ll include links to the products I use.

Garlic Oil

In laboratory studies, garlic was found to possess antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties. Key to garlic’s antiviral and healing properties are its hundreds of beneficial compounds, which work synergistically, such as allicin, which in turn produces other sulphur compounds, such as ajoene, allyl sulphides and vinyldithiins. (5)

Echinacea Extract

Preparations of echinacea roots and flowering parts have been shown in several clinical trials to be effective in reducing the severity and duration of symptoms in patients with common cold, upper respiratory tract infection and viral bronchitis symptoms. (6)

Ginseng

Contains polysaccharides and oligosaccharides, which are chains of carbohydrate molecules. In lab cultures, they stimulate the production of immunoglobulins, which are immune fighting proteins. (7)

Green Tea Extract

Green tea contains a group of flavonoids called catechins, which appear to inhibit viral infections by binding to the haemagglutinin of the influenza virus and so preventing the virus from entering the host cells. (8)

Olive Leaf Extract

The leaves contain a bitter substance called oleuropein, one component of which, elenoic acid, has been identified as a potent inhibitor of a wide range of viruses in laboratory tests. The calcium salt of elenoic acid destroyed all of the viruses it was tested against, including influenza, herpes, polio and coxsackie viruses. (9)

Sambucol (Elderberry, Sambucus nigra)

In a double-blind clinical trial, more than 90 per cent of the 15 patients taking elderberry extract (60 ml a day for adults and 30 ml a day for children) showed a significant reduction in influenza symptoms after two days and complete recovery after three days. (10)

Mushroom Extracts

There are many of them, but the premier immune system enhancer may be Turkey Tail mushrooms, says Paul Stamit, America’s premier mycologist.

I got turned on to Turkey Tail mushrooms from watching a riveting Ted Talk that Stamit gave about how his extract of this mushroom beat breast cancer into submission.

In my article, Your 8 Ingredient Ebola Protection Recipe, I wrote:

I first heard of Turkey Tail mushroom from one the most preeminent mycologist in America, Paul Stamets. At a TEDmd conference, he was telling the story of how it saved his eighty-something mother from dying of breast cancer. He turned, looked down and smiled at someone, and up leaped his mother, who strode onto the stage, hale and smiling. Mr. Stamets then penned an article for the Huffington Post about how Turkey Tail Mushrooms defeats cancer and other degenerative diseases because it increases those killer cells (T-cells) above mentioned. The quality of turkey tail mushrooms varies, so buy it from the most righteous mushroom guy around, Paul Stamet, on his site, Fungi Perfecti.

Turkey Tail mushrooms have been used in Asia for thousands and thousands of years, and it turns out to be a really potent immune therapy, so much so that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a clinical trial for a turkey tail extract, allowing patients with advanced prostate cancer to take it in combination with conventional chemotherapy. (11)

Vitamin D3

Vitamin D3 has receptors to trigger an immune response that may be effective against an assortment of infections, including influenza.  (Watch expert Dr. Michael Holick in 30 Reasons to Take Vitamin D.)

Influenzinum

Inflenzium is a homeopathic remedy that comes in a small plastic vial-type container filled with tiny round white pellets, which you place under your tongue and let dissolve.  My sister swears by homeopathic remedies, and they were the primary way she kept her daughter pretty much immune to many of the communicably infectious diseases that typically sweep through schools.  That said, many traditional doctors say that there’s no convincing studies that show the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies.

The American Association of Homeopathic Pharmacists said this about Influenzium:

There is no homeopathic literature, nor clinical trials, which adequately support a homeopathic drug, and more specifically homeopathic Influenzinum, for use as prophylaxis for influenza. […]

Appropriate use of homeopathic medicines according to the “principle of similars” involves the matching of symptoms in the diseased state with those symptoms caused by a specific substance in its homeopathic drug proving. As such, homeopathic medicines are used principally for the treatment of presented symptoms manifested in the individual as a result of the “flu” rather than the agent that caused the symptoms. Literature supports the use of homeopathic Influenzinum for symptoms of fever, chills, diarrhea and cough, among others. In addition, the changing strains of influenza make it virtually impossible to assess the usefulness of a particular strain within that same year of disease proliferation

Notwithstanding all that, I used it anyway.

Supplements are great, but don’t forget immune-enhancing food. As I wrote in How To Become Immune To The Flu, eat the foods that help to build immune system health, such as:

  • Fatty fish (salmon, trout and tuna are high in omega 3 fatty acids),
  • Onions (promote flavonoid antioxidants such as quercetin, allicin and anthocyanins)
  • Mushrooms (increase the production and activity of white blood cells),
  • Yoghurt (contains probiotics which control the population of pathogens in the GI tract),
  • Eggs (have choline which makes cell membranes resistant to infection),
  • Beans (increase production and strength of white blood cells),
  • Greens (protect blood vessels, reduce inflammation and neutralize oxidative stress),
  • Berries (high in nutrients and antioxidants), and
  • Nuts (rich in phytosterols, minerals and antioxidants).

 

My One Day Cure

I’m writing this on a Saturday. On Thursday evening, I begin to get the sniffles and a runny nose. Some sneezing here and there.

Allergies? No, don’t get them. It was something else, but no worries… I went to bed at the normal time, but first I took two doses of Influenzium.

Friday, I awoke bereft of any zip in my step. Although my sinuses were only intermittently clogged, the nose was still runny, sneezes erupted here and there, tension squeezed my sinuses and temples, and overall fatigue was the motif for the day.

I took it easy yesterday, Friday, but also jumped on some supplements and special foods. I took Turkey Tail and Sambucol, drank a concoction throughout the day of freshly squeezed lemons, cayenne pepper and niacin in warm water (very cleansing, high vitamin C, blood stimulating), about six oranges, and made myself a garlic sandwich!

Yep, I did… two in fact.

Here’s the freshly chopped garlic:

Garlic, the Flu Fighter

Here’s the toasted seeded wheat bread spread with almond butter:

Garlic fights the flu

Here’s the garlic layered upon the almond butter:

Garlic beats the flu

I ate two of those yesterday, and one this morning. And the result is that my potentially several-day cold/flu was beat into submission, lasting only one day!

By the afternoon, I had enough zip to gallop over to the park and do a light calisthenic routine of pull-ups, dips, push-ups, squats and the like. So, I’m a happy camper.

May you have found some insights here about how to next battle your own bout of the flu/cold. If you have a particular cold or flu-beating formula, let us know in the Comments below.

 

P.S.  Anybody you know that gets sick every year?  Share this with them… they’ll be glad you did.

Last Updated on February 7, 2024 by Joe Garma

Share. Someone you know will be thankful.
Joe Garma
 

I help people live with more vitality and strength. I'm a big believer in sustainability, and am a bit nutty about optimizing my diet, supplements, hormones and exercise. To get exclusive Updates, tips and be on your way to a stronger, more youthful body, join my weekly Newsletter. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

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